Consolidation amongst unbiased media companies continues apace — a response to the holding firms getting greater and larger, which creates extra alternative for indies to select away mid-market shoppers.
Digiday has discovered that performance-oriented media company Brainlabs has acquired L.A.-based fellow unbiased media company Exverus Media. Phrases of the acquisition weren’t disclosed upon request, nevertheless it brings the entire firm to 1,060 staff. The pondering behind the acquisition, based on Dan Gilbert, Brainlabs’ founder and CEO, is to spherical out Brainlabs’ providing to be extra full-funnel, given Exverus’ talents on the upper- or brand-end of the funnel.
“There was an rising demand from shoppers to have a full-funnel strategy,” mentioned Gilbert. “So we began trying round on the numerous companies out there, and after we got here throughout Exverus, it was like a light-weight went [on].”
“I feel it’s a incredible acquisition for each of them, as a result of I feel that there’s associated, however very complementary expertise,” mentioned Steve Boehler, who runs consultancy Mercer Island Group. “However most significantly, the Exverus acquisition brings some actually essential prime of the funnel pondering and capabilities to Brainlabs.”
Though small (solely about 50 individuals work there), Exverus has develop its choices to replicate extra talents than most smaller media companies, together with constructing out programmatic choices at a time when that was virtually solely the area of holding firms.
For now, the 2 companies will proceed to function underneath their model names (though Exverus will henceforth be often known as Exverus by Brainlabs). The principals of each Brainlabs and Exverus mentioned they’re already working collectively on new pitches.
“From a cooperational standpoint, there are in all probability going to be alternatives for us to fold in with the Brainlabs workforce and sort out initiatives new shopper alternatives collectively and actually be one workforce, one dream fairly shortly,” mentioned Invoice Durrant, who co-founded Exverus with Talia Arnold, the store’s managing director. “There are strategic alternatives which have already occurred and which can be going to proceed to occur the place we are able to now fold in new providers and new options for our shoppers.”
Arnold mentioned shoppers simply wish to know they are often coated for all their wants in a single place. “I can’t inform you the variety of conversations that I’ve had with shoppers which can be saying, ‘You understand, I simply need somebody that’s in a position to have a look at all the pieces’,” mentioned Arnold, whose shoppers embrace Premier Protein, Dymatize, and New Belgium and Bell’s Brewing. “They need nationwide model constructing fairness media, but additionally wish to understand how that matches in with elevated investments in retail media and programmatic.”
“For Brainlabs, there aren’t very many acquisition targets which can be as sensible and with nearly as good a monitor document [as Exverus] and but could be as reasonably priced,” mentioned Boehler. ”For his or her brains and their status, [Durrant and Arnold] punch above their weight already.”
However Arnold and Durrant have been additionally fast to level out what they acquire from being purchased by Brainlabs — the experience goes each methods. “Issues like search engine optimization and natural content material and artistic and their greater tech stack, and their planning software program and knowledge software program,” mentioned Arnold. “Lots of the sources that we’ve been hungry for for a very long time now we’re going to have the ability to supply.”
The transfer additionally empowers Brainlabs and Exverus to compete for a bigger sort of shopper, in addition to bigger unbiased media companies like PMG or Tinuiti — the latter of which additionally made a number of acquisitions over the previous few years to spherical out its potential to service shoppers from prime to backside of the funnel.
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